# Operations

A project's operations run in the order they are listed. The usual plan is one roughing operation
with a large tool and one or two finishing operations with a smaller ball nose.

## Roughing

- **Raster roughing** — clears material layer by layer with parallel passes, leaving an even
  allowance for the finish. Quick to plan and predictable.
- **Waterline roughing** — follows the contour of the relief at each layer, like the lines on a
  map.

Both step down by the **stepdown** each layer and leave the **stock to leave** for the finishing
pass. Neither goes below the relief.

## Finishing

- **Raster finish** — parallel passes at an angle you choose. The standard finish.
- **Cross-hatch finish** — two raster passes at right angles; smoother, twice the time.
- **Spiral finish** — one continuous spiral, outward from the centre or inward to it; suits round
  pieces.
- **Offset finish** — rings following the outline of the piece inwards.

## The numbers that matter

- **Stepover** — the distance between passes, as a fraction of the tool diameter. Smaller is
  smoother and slower; the ridge left between passes (the scallop) grows quickly as it widens.
- **Tolerance** — how closely each path follows the relief. The simulation's check on the finished
  cut allows for it.
- **Direction** — climb, conventional, or zig-zag (both ways, fastest).
- **Boundary margin** — how far past the edge of the piece the tool may go, or automatic.

## Edge mode

On the Setup tab, **Open** lets the tool run off the edge of the piece, which finishes the edges
cleanly on a piece cut free of its stock. **Protected** keeps the tool centre inside the piece,
which leaves a rim — use it when the relief sits inside a panel.

## Validation

The Operations tab lists anything wrong before you spend a credit: a stepover smaller than the image
resolution, a feed above the machine's limit, a stepdown deeper than the tool can cut, and so on. Errors stop the job; warnings do not.